On March 30, 1918, British, Australian and Canadian troops mount a successful counter-attack against the German offensive at Moreuil Wood, recapturing most of the area and forcing a turn in the tide of the battle in favor of the Allies.

After launching the first stage of a major spring offensive on March 21, 1918—masterminded by Erich von Ludendorff, chief of the German general staff—the German army swiftly pushed through the British 5th Army along the Somme, crossing the river on March 24. Their attacks were less successful to the north, however, around the crucially important Vimy Ridge, where Britain’s 3rd Army successfully held its positions. Determined to push on toward Paris, Ludendorff threw his troops against the town of Amiens. To Ludendorff’s distress, although they came within 11 miles of the city, the Germans had great difficulty capturing Amiens and its railway junction, which the British and French were told to hold at all costs. Lacking sufficient cavalry, the Germans also had problems delivering artillery and supplies to their front-line troops; those troops also received no relief, and were expected to sustain the momentum of the attack all on their own.

By the morning of March 30, the Germans had occupied Moreuil Wood, some 20 kilometers south of Amiens. On that day, an Allied force including British and Canadian cavalry and air brigades confronted the Germans head-on. By the end of the day, the Allies had managed to halt the German advance at Moreuil Wood, despite suffering heavy casualties.

The events at Moreuil Wood broke the momentum of the German attacks. While the operation had technically been successful, resulting in a gain of almost 40 miles of territory and inflicting heavy losses on the Allies—177,739 British troops died or were taken prisoner during the battle, at a daily rate of 11,000 men, while the French lost nearly 80,000—German troops had also lost over a quarter of a million men to injury or death. The casualties included Ludendorff’s own stepson, a German pilot shot down over the battlefield during the attacks. Ludendorff called off the attacks on April 5; the next stage of the offensive would begin just four days later.

By early April 1918, both the Allies and the Central Powers had entered a crucial period of reckoning. A major German victory on the Western Front would mean the end of the war, in their favor. As British Prime Minister David Lloyd George told the leaders of the British Dominions in a speech on March 31: “The last man may count.” The Allies, at least, could count on fresh infusions from the United States, which increased its troops in France to more than 300,000 by the end of that month. For their part, the Germans were prepared to wager everything they had on this spring offensive—the last they would undertake in World War I.

The fall of Przemysl, which will now no doubt be called by its Russian name of Peremyshl, is in every way surprising.

Even a few days before, quite well-informed people had no idea that the end was coming so soon. The town was a first-class fortress, whose development had been an object of special solicitude to the late Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Of course it was recognized that Peremyshl was the gate of Hungary and the key to Galicia; but, more than that, it was strengthened into a great point of debouchment for an aggressive movement by Austro-Hungary against Russia; for the Russian policy of Austria, like her original plan of campaign, was based on the assumption of the offensive. It was generally understood that Peremyshl was garrisoned by about 50,000 men, that the garrison was exclusively Hungarian, and that the commander. Kusmanek, was one of the few really able Austrian commanders in this war. The stores were said to be enough for a siege of three years. The circle of the forts was so extended as to make operations easy against any but the largest blockading force; and the aerodrome, which was well covered, gave communication with the outside world. An air post has run almost regularly, the letters (of which I have some) being stamped "Flieger-Post." . . . The practical difficulties offered to the Russians by Peremyshl were very great; for the one double railway line westward runs through the town so that all military and Red Cross communications have been indefinitely lengthened....

For weeks past the fortress had kept up a terrific fire which was greater than any experienced elsewhere from Austrian artillery. Thousands of shell yielded only tens of wounded, and it would seem that the Austrians could have had no other object than to g et rid of their ammunition. The fire was now intensified to stupendous proportions and the sortie took place; but, so far from the whole garrison coming out, it was only a portion of it, and was driven back with the annihilation of almost a whole division.

Now followed extraordinary scenes. Austrian soldiers were seen fighting each other, while the Russians looked on. Amid the chaos a small group of staff officers appeared, casually enough, with a white flag, and announced surrender. Austrians were seen cutting pieces out of slaughtered horses that lay in heaps, and showing an entire indifference to their capture. Explosions of war material continued after the surrender.

The greatest surprise of all was the strength of the garrison, which numbered not 50,000 but 130,000, which makes of Peremyshl a second Metz. Different explanations are offered; for instance, troops which had lost their field trains and therefore their mobility are reported to have taken refuge in Peremyshl after Rava Russka, but surely the subsequent withdrawal of the blockade gave them ample time for retreat. A more convincing account is that Peremyshl was full of depots, left there to be supports of a great advancing field army. In any case no kind of defense can be pleaded for the surrender of this imposing force.

The numbers of the garrison of course reduced to one-third the time during which the food supplies would last; but even so the fortress should have held out for a year. The epidemic diseases within the lines supply only a partial explanation. The troops, instead of being all Hungarians, were of various Austrian nationalities; and there is good reason to think that the conditions of defense led to feuds, brawls and, in the end, open disobedience of orders. This was all the more likely because, while food was squandered on the officers, the rank and file and the local population were reduced to extremes, and because the officers, to judge by the first sortie, took but little part in the actual fighting. The wholesale slaughter of horses of itself robbed the army of its mobility. The fall of Peremyshl is the most striking example so far of the general demoralization of the Austrian army and monarchy.

Peremyshl, so long a formidable hindrance to the Russians, now a splendid base for an advance into Hungary.

I talked to this man at the feed store yesterday. He came in and asked Mr. Stebbins if he could post some bills and after Mr. Stebbins said sure, the man with the bills turned back around and on his way out, he stopped to talk to me. He asked me if I was Albino, and I said yes. Then he asked me if I’d ever been to the circus. I told him that it comes around here every other year, and I always want to go, but my family is usually too broke to afford it.

That’s about when he started telling me about the side-show. He asked me if I ever heard of it, and I told him that I sorta did, and asked him if it was all really a bunch of freaks. he said some of them are pretty hard for most people to look at, but a lot are actually kinda normal-looking except for something extraordinary-looking about them. Like there’s this armless girl who can shoot a gun with her feet, but that if she was born with arms like a regular person, she’d actually be really pretty. And that there’s this guy who he thought I’d think was pretty hansome if he wasn’t so skinny.

He said that P.T. Barnum’s circus has a family of albinos in their side-show, and some other circus has this little albino girl, who’s actually a little retarded, too, but he said I’m prettier than the woman in the family with Barnum and I seem smarter than the little girl with the other people, so he said I could probably make a lot of money with them, they’re the Ringling Brothers.

So, I told him I’d think about it and discuss it with my Poppa, but that I’m so blind that Poppa probly wouldn’t have too much of a problem with it. It’s not like I’m much use on the farm other than going to the store. So he says he’ll be back on Thursday at about ten in the morning, and that if I’m there, he’ll take me to Toledo with him.

I talked to Poppa about it, and I told him that this is probably going to be my best bet for life, unless I run into the off chance that somebody around here is going to want to marry a girl already too blind to cook right. Poppa said that if it’s really what I want to do, that he won’t stand in my way, that I did right by thinking about it like I did, and that I’m right that I’m probably not gonna be fit enough for most of these guys around here to marry. I love Poppa for respecting me like a grown-up like he does. Well, that’s not the only reason, but I respect him a whole lot more for it.

Momma, though, she caught me packing up my things after I called that guy back, and well she just went into a tizzy, like I’m six and not sixteen and trying to tell me that I’ll get married if I just stick around. I told her I don’t want to be a burden on the family or some husband, and if I stick around here, that’s what’ll end up hapning. She just don’t listen to reason sometimes! It really is best that I go off with the Ringling Brothers circus, cos at least I’ll be able to make some money by doing practically nothing. It’s not like people around here don’t already stare at me, but with the Ringlings, people around here will pay to stare at me, so as Poppa said, I’ll be getting the last laugh in somehow.

Oh well, I should be turning in now. I have a big day ahead tomorrow and I probably won’t get another chance to write until Saturday or something. Take care, dear Diary.

30th March 1916 - Up with the sparrows this morn. Gee, its cold here. Woke up at about 2 am and thought the North Pole had shifted a bit. Awaiting orders to entrain for some unknown spot. Randall joined up with us again. The Major, Chas, Raymond, and self cruised over to a Hotel and had cafe au lait. OC and C for break [?]. For dinner we got into a Restaurant which was unmistakably German. (Pirated) Exercised horses in the afternoon. No leave granted. Anyhow at 7 pm . . . [we] called a muster and found that 100 men of our particular Bty had . . . [sealed] out. No orders for shifting yet. Believe we go north from here a 5-hours train journey via Paris. Learning to talk French like a Parrot.

From March-June 1916 the United States mounted an armed expedition to Mexico to quell raids initiated by prominent Mexican leader Pancho Villa into the U.S.

Allegedly sponsored by the German government Villa launched a raid into the State of Chihuahua on 11 January 1916, capturing and killing 19 U.S. citizens. This was followed on 9 March with a raid upon Columbus in New Mexico, killing 11 citizens.

Following U.S. protests Mexico's President Venustiano Carranza undertook to deal with Villa but insisted that the U.S. not interfere. However with the U.S. rapidly losing patience with Carranza, General Frederick Funston - U.S. commander along the border - was ordered to despatch an armed U.S. column into Mexico in pursuit of Villa (to be taken dead or alive). To that end Funston placed General John Pershing in command of the expedition.

Pershing led 4,000 U.S. troops into Mexico on 15 March 1916, remaining there until early 1917. On 29 March 1916 a U.S. force of 400 men defeated a larger number of Villa's followers. Nevertheless U.S. troops remained to mop up the remnants of Villa's supporters; these troops increasingly came into contact - and armed conflict - with official Mexican troops sent by President Carranza to deal with Villa, the first of which took place on 12 April 1916.

Increasing clashes led to a very real threat of war between the U.S. and Mexico; on 18 June 1916 U.S. President Woodrow Wilson called out the National Guard to deal with the Mexican problem. As these were gathering along the Mexican border President Carranza backed down, releasing a group of captured U.S. troops and despatching a note of apology on 4 July 1916, in which he suggested convening a conference to prevent future issues.

Reproduced below is General Pershing's brief official report dated 30 March 1916 regarding the dispersal of Pancho Villa's forces.

Official Report of the Dispersal of Villa's Forces by General John Pershing
San Geronimo Ranch, March 30, 1916

Villa, who is suffering from a broken leg and lame hip, was not present. Number Villa's dead known to be thirty, probably others carried away dead. Dodd captured two machine guns, large number horses, saddles, and arms. Our casualties, four enlisted men wounded, none seriously.

Attack was surprise, the Villa troops being driven in a ten-mile running fight and retreated to mountains northeast of railroad, where they separated into small bands.

Large number Carranzista prisoners, who were being held for execution, were liberated during the fight.

In order to reach Guerrero, Dodd marched fifty-five miles in seventeen hours and carried on fight for five hours.

Eliseo Hernandez, who commanded Villa's troops, was killed in fight. With Villa permanently disabled, Lopez wounded, and Hernandez dead, the blow administered is a serious one to Villa's band.

YET once an earlier David took
Smooth pebbles from the brook:
Out between the lines he went
To that one-sided tournament,
A shepherd boy who stood out fine
And young to fight a Philistine
Clad all in brazen mail. He swears
That he’s killed lions, he’s killed bears,
And those that scorn the God of Zion
Shall perish so like bear or lion.
But … the historian of that fight
Had not the heart to tell it right.

Striding within javelin range,
Goliath marvels at this strange
Goodly-faced boy so proud of strength.
David’s clear eye measures the length;
With hand thrust back, he cramps one knee,
Poises a moment thoughtfully,
And hurls with a long vengeful swing.
The pebble, humming from the sling
Like a wild bee, flies a sure line
For the forehead of the Philistine;
Then … but there comes a brazen clink,
And quicker than a man can think
Goliath’s shield parries each cast.
Clang! clang! and clang! was David’s last.
Scorn blazes in the Giant’s eye,
Towering unhurt six cubits high.
Says foolish David, “Damn your shield!
And damn my sling! but I’ll not yield.”
He takes his staff of Mamre oak,
A knotted shepherd-staff that’s broke
The skull of many a wolf and fox
Come filching lambs from Jesse’s flocks.
Loud laughs Goliath, and that laugh
Can scatter chariots like blown chaff
To rout; but David, calm and brave,
Holds his ground, for God will save.
Steel crosses wood, a flash, and oh!
Shame for beauty’s overthrow!
(God’s eyes are dim, His ears are shut.)
One cruel backhand sabre-cut—
“I’m hit! I’m killed!” young David cries,
Throws blindly forward, chokes … and dies.
And look, spike-helmeted, grey, grim,
Goliath straddles over him.

Mr. WATT asked the Prime Minister whether the Government propose to pay any compensation to the relatives of those who lost their lives by the sinking of the "California" on 7th February last, in view of the fact that that steamer was carrying foodstuffs for the use of the Government?

Mr. ROBERTS The Prime Minister has asked me to answer this question. The dependants of the officers and seamen of of the ss. "California," who lost their lives will receive compensation equivalent to that payable under the Injuries in War (Compensation) Acts to the dependants of officers and seamen of Fleet auxiliaries. The payments will be made through the Liverpool and London War Risks Insurance Association. Eleven of the claims have already been settled, and no time is being lost in dealing with the remainder, nearly all of which are cases of partial dependency, and therefore more difficult to determine.

Mr. WATT Does that apply to relatives of passengers on board the vessel?

Mr. W. THORNE asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether, if a number of families are willing, as an experiment, to ration them-selves on the family-book system in accordance with the now suggested voluntary rationing, he will give a guarantee that they will be able to obtain their share of the food commodities from the various tradesmen?

Captain BATHURST It is not possible to give the guarantee suggested by the hon. Member.

Mr. THORNE Does the hon Gentleman not think it possible, if a number of persons are willing to carry out the family-book system, that they should be guaranteed the proper amount of bread, meat, sugar, etc., under the system of voluntary rationing?

Captain BATHURST The whole question of the advisability of adopting what is described as the family-book system is now under the consideration of a Departmental Committee, and it would not be advisable to adopt such a scheme in a piecemeal fashion.

All four boys enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces (A.I.F.) soon after the outbreak of WWI in 1914.
Bert (aged 25) and Vern (20) were at The Landing at Gallipoli, Percy (21) sailed on the "Orsova" in July, Viv (23) did Officer Training and had married his long-time sweetheart Clytie, before sailing in September.
Bert spent a few months training in Egypt before taking part in the historic 25 April 1915 landing at Gallipoli Peninsula. As a crack shot and an expert signaller he was always in the front lines and in danger.

Friday 30th: Complimented by CO on having the smartest & best turned out guard that had ever been mounted here. Warned that I'm on draft leaving the following morning. Relieved off guard at 3.30 so that I could get equipped. Relieved so suddenly that I had no warning & so things were not as tidy as they might have been. Got straffed. Got every thing fixed up to leave. Gee my pack is heavy. I'll dump something before I lump it many miles.

Driven to earth and shelter – 30 March 1918
The countryside pleased the diggers and they were glad to be rid of the trenches and out in the open. Charles Bean described a ‘picnic atmosphere’ where camps were made on grassy slopes where the cows still grazed and hens could be scavenged from recently deserted houses and farms. Sailly–le–Sec in particular was ‘full of food’; one man describing how there were ‘magnificent feeds’ to be had there. Units divided up sections of the village and collected enough for three good meals a day quite apart form their army rations. Cows were milked and sheep hidden in cellars with plenty of fodder to await a unit’s next tour of duty in the area. There was wine in plenty, particularly from the mayor’s house and one man noted that there was nothing more refreshing than ‘sweet red wine, especially as our water was generally bad’.

But the sadness of war confronted the Australians at Sailly–le–Sec:

There were only 18 [French] people in the place, all between 50 and 80; they were old folk who said they had their homes and belongings there – they did not mind dying, but they would not face the prospect of leaving their homes and going out to the world as paupers.Unnamed diarist, 42nd Battalion AIF, quoted in Charles Bean, The Australian Imperial Force in France, 1918, Volume V, p.188

When serious fighting began all these people were evacuated except one elderly woman, aged 80, who stuck it out in the village in her own home.

On 29 March the German advance resumed. Across the Somme the Australians could see large bodies of German infantry advancing westwards towards Amiens. The next day, shortly before noon, the men of the 44th (Western Australia) Battalion saw a host of the enemy, ‘like a huge crowd just dispersing from a football match’, move out of Sailly–Laurette village and come towards them. Similar enemy movement was occurring all along the line across the uplands towards positions held by the other Australian battalions.

Mortimer Lawrence, son of Mr. and Mrs. T.D. Lawrence of this city, was commissioned yesterday as a First Lieut. of the 41st Infantry, U.S. Regular Army, in the Aerial Observers Corps.

Lieut. Lawrence’s many friends in this city are proud of his record. Last July, Mr. Lawrence made every effort to enlist in the Navy. Being turned down because of his light weight he turned to the U.S. Regular Army and was accepted, enlisting as a private.

Soon after he became attached to the Aerial Observers Corps, and has advanced steadily in the ranks of that organization until the present time, receiving a commission as a First Lieutenant.

30 March 1918 - Around noon the Germans launched a big attack from the river south of Bois des Tailloux, supported by a heavy bombardment. The 2nd Dublins, who included a number of 1st Battalion men, received casualties. They counter attacked and retook the line, but suffered heavy casualties.

There was a general feeling by the spring of 1918 that, in one way or another, the war was about to end. The Russian Army had just pulled out of The Great War due to the Bolshevik Revolution, and all the German forces on the eastern front were now free to head to the west and fight the rest of Europe. Allied forces were significantly lowered after five years of war; French battalions were being combined into fewer full groups, and the British Prime Minister was hesitant to send Field Marshall Haig more troops after horrific losses during the Battle of Passchendaele the previous year. Finally, the United States, newly entered into the war, still had yet to get its full industrial power into Europe.

The Germans, in contrast, were fully armed, fully trained, and fully manned. The time was as right as it would ever be for the Germans to attack - it would be their last chance at victory before economic conditions back home ended the war for them.

On March 21st, the Germans began an aggressive attack into the Ameins region with heavy artillery bombardment followed by deep insertion by stormtrooper units; waves of infantry would then file into recently prepared, thinly defended sections of trench between the British and French lines. By the 23rd, the Germans had broken through to the village of Ham; by the 26th, they had broken clean through the Allied lines, forcing an Allied retreat. But, like all deep advances, the Germans had to slow down as their supply lines ran thin and could no longer support such a narrow front.

On March 30th, the Allies finally started gaining some reinforcements to prepare for the next big attack. By then, the Germans had occupied the Moreuil Wood overlooking the River Arve.

Until the rest of the Allied reinforcements arrived, Major General Seely and the Canadian Cavalry Brigade were tasked with holding the Germans back.

It goes without saying that by this point in the war, the severe limitations of mounted cavalry in a modern war of cartridge rifles, machine-guns and mechanized artillery were very apparent. They were a noble relic of times long past, more a tradition than a practical arm of the military. Still, many forces - including the British forces - kept them as a quick means to capitalize on any sudden breakthroughs that never came up.

The Canadian Cavalry Brigade, thus, now had a momentous duty to perform. Seely had the Royal Canadian Dragoons protect the village of Moreuil while he sent Lord Strathcona's Horse into the woods to fight the Germans.

The battle in the woods proved to be a frantic one of small-scale skirmishes where isolated groups of soldiers fought other small groups. It should also go without saying that cavalry in a wooded area rather than a clearing is also quite limited. Several units in response were dismounting and fighting up close with fixed bayonet, pistol and sabre rather than on horse.

The Allies were still able to keep a slow advance, and one particular group of Lord Strathcona's Horse was given an order to cut off their eastward retreat.

This group, led by Lieutenant Gordon Flowerdew, pushed its way through the wood to the northeast corner of it; by this time there were six squadrons of Lord Strathcona's Horse in the wood.

Once out onto the Northeastern edge of the wood and on the high ground, Flowerdew saw an alarming sight: two lines of the German 101st Grenadiers, 300-strong. They had machine-guns and artillery, but they were also withdrawing.

What came next is now known as "The Last Great Cavalry Charge". There were a few other military charges on horseback after this, but this was the last truly devastating one . . .

"It's a charge, boys, it's a charge!" Flowerdew said before ordering his squadrons to a gallop over the 300 yard clearing, hooves thundering and sabres drawn. The Canadian Cavalry suffered heavy losses in the charge as the German machine-guns opened up. Still, the remaining cavalry units rode through the first line of Germans . . . then they rode through the second line . . . then they wheeled around and rode through them all over again.

By the end of the battle, there were only 51 Strathconas not dead or wounded. On the other end of the field, the Germans were stopped dead in their tracks. By the end of the day the Germans were routed from the woods. And though the Germans were able to take back parts of the wood or areas around the wood, they never took it all.

The German offensive had lost its momentum. Haig finally got his reinforcements sent in; the American troops were finally arriving in great numbers; the Germans were finished.

Among the 305 Allied casualties that day, Lieutenant Flowerdew was among them. His unit had taken 70% casualties in the battle - he himself had been shot through both legs and died the next day - he had never actually reached the German lines his squadron had charged. He posthumously won the Victoria Cross for his selfless actions.

As economic strife tore the German Empire apart, the war turned around and the Allies began pushing back in force.

This push, in no doubt, had a good deal of help from some soldiers with swords and horses in a war defined by machines and explosives. With a story like that, you'd think it'd be one they tell in school every year.

Well, they're not doing it yet . . . let's change that.

I've no truly poignant words this year, I find. While we may never experience the feeling of total war that the previous generations had felt, we're definitely having our own share of times now.

It's well past 11am of the 11th day of the 11th month as I type this, and I feel a little guilty that I did not get this up sooner. In fact, I'm actually a little rushed right now as it is, as I've several errands to do before running off to work (on a stat. holiday, no less).

But as I've said, those who have come before, both here and gone, don't ask for much except a couple minutes. Though they've every right to them, they don't ask for parades or movies or cakes or anything.

Popular memory of the Western Front in France and Belgium is dominated by images of mud, trenches and useless slaughter. Between March and September 1918, however, the operations in which the soldiers of the Australian Imperial Force were involved were fought in more open conditions on the chalk uplands of the Somme region. Although there were very many Australian casualties, these months have always been represented as the great period of success for the five divisions of the newly formed ‘Australian Corps’. From May 1918, they had been under the command of an Australian, Lieutenant General John Monash. Monash was knighted at his headquarters at the Chateau de Bertangles after the British success at the Battle of Amiens in August 1918, and he later wrote an influential book on his experiences titled The Australian Victories in France.

One of the first of these ‘victories’ was achieved in the upland area between the Somme and Ancre rivers west of the town of Albert. On 21 March 1918, the German Army launched a huge offensive at the British lines north and south of the town of St Quentin. The Germans aimed at breaking through the line and cutting the British off from their French allies to the south. Faced with the effectiveness of this stunning attack, British forces began a withdrawal and, by 25 March, were reaching back towards the key city of Amiens. The capture of Amiens would have been a disaster. In this situation Australian and other units were hurried south from their winter positions in Belgium to help stem the enemy advance.

On 27 March 1918, elements of the Australian Third Division relieved exhausted British infantry in the triangle between the Somme and the Ancre. They quickly established an emergency line about three kilometres west of the village of Morlancourt. The French villagers reacted very positively to the appearance of Australian soldiers many of whom had been billeted hereabouts during the Battle of the Somme in 1916:

In the French villages whenever in those weeks these hearty, stalwart battalions marched in they were met with striking demonstrations of affection and trust … ‘Fini retreat, Madame’, said a digger to a village woman as he sat grimly cleaning his rifle while the Third Division halted in Heilly on its way to the triangle between Ancre and Somme. ‘Fini retreat – beaucoup Australiens ici’. Charles Bean, Anzac to Amiens, Canberra, 1948, p.415

At 4.30 pm on 28 March 1918, the Australians were ordered to straighten the line by moving to the ridgeline overlooking Morlancourt itself. They had only gone half a kilometre before being stopped by strong German resistance. The advance resumed again after dark in light rain but was once again brought to a halt by German fire. On 29 March, Australian artillery forced the Germans to abandon their defensive positions and, on 30 March, three determined assaults by a fresh German division were beaten off. This effectively stemmed the German advance in this area. The Third Division dug in and throughout April 1918 successfully patrolled towards German positions.

By the end of April 1918, the German advance towards Amiens had been halted and the Germans now concentrated their operations against the French further south. Around Morlancourt the Australians, when opportunity presented itself, continued to harass the enemy. A second action at Morlancourt was fought between 4 and 9 May consisting of a series of small attacks leading to the seizure of the new German front line in front of the village. After six and a half weeks in the line the Third Division was now relieved by the Second Division. When the war was over, the Third Division elected to construct its divisional memorial on the heights overlooking the Somme River to commemorate the significant role the division had played in helping to defend this area, and the city of Amiens, against the Germans.

This site consists of War Letters sent home by a doughboy (an army soldier in World War I) to his parents.

France, Mar 30. 1918

Dear Old Folks at Home.

I received your letter of Mar. 3rd and you can't imagine how much good it done me to get it. It seemed to put the pep in me. This leaves me feeling fine & dandy & hope it finds you folks the same.

By the way you write about Ernie, it seems to me as though I have a good chance of getting a sister. Here is hoping so. And I hope she is the girl that makes him a good woman. What is her last name?

How does Arlee's like their new home? It will be better than their old one anyway.

Mother, you spoke of Joe's little girl. What did you mean? Joe's haven't another baby, have they? If so & she is anything like Doyle she sure must be some kid and of course she would be the greatest thing in the world to me. But they must not neglect my little kid Doyle. Just think, when I get back I'll have more nieces & nephews than I can count. But keep the good name going Ha, Ha.

I would like to see Smiley & his Ford & also would like to meet his Waterloo.

So Dad has turned Farmer again. Poor old fellow. He can't keep from working, can he? Tell him nothing would suit me better than to come over & help him, but he will have to wait a little longer & I'll be there with bells on & to stay, too. Just think, he is a farmer, runs a shop, and last of all, a Soldier. I would like to see him walking post, and I know he can do it as good as anyone.

How are the fellows getting along with the drilling? I'll never forget the drilling I put in at old Fort M .

I received the package & that cake was the best I have eaten for many a while. Tell Mrs. Gibson that she has a recipe to be proud of as the cake traveled all this distance & didn't lose a bit of it's flavor.

I wish you would send me Chas. Hutch's letter when you are through reading it. Also his address as I would like to write to him.

Well, I written about all I can think of so will close as tomorrow is Muster & I have to clean up for it. So take good care of yourselves & write often. I am always
Your Son & Bro.
Kinney

When one thinks of the term “America’s Sweetheart” many film actresses come to mind, such as Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts. The fact is that the title was first given to Mary Pickford, one of the first actresses to make film her medium of choice. Pickford is often written about with the “AS” title but unfortunately, because of that simple, confining title, her film career has been over-looked. Mary Pickford was a true original who not only had a unique acting style but also was one of the earliest, if not the most powerful, woman in film history.

George Cukor has credited Mary Pickford as being the first method actress of screen acting . Mary herself once said, “I didn’t act- I was the characters I played on the screen. During a picture, I didn’t leave the character at the studio, I took it home with me. I lived my parts,” describing her acting style. Mary herself said that she could not disconnect with her characters when she started playing, which may have carried over into her public life. The reason why she is considered the first American sweetheart was due to her portrayal of children, noble, good-hearted, and spirited young women.

The first film of Mary’s that cemented her as a star was Tess of the Storm Country released March 30, 1914 where she played a “poor, uneducated girl, dirty and dressed in rags…[who] proves her inherent goodness.”

Citation from the London Gazette, No 29527 March 30, 1916: "Eric Archibald McNair, Lieutenant, Royal Sussex Regiment. When the enemy exploded a mine, Lieutenant McNair and many men of two platoons were hoisted into the air, and many men were buried. But, though much shaken, he at once organised a party with a machine gun to man the near edge of the crater, and opened rapid fire on a large party of the enemy who were advancing. The enemy were driven back leaving many dead. Lieutenant McNair then ran back for reinforcements, and sent to another unit for bombs, ammunition and tools to replace those buried. The communication trench being blocked, he went across the open under heavy fire, and led up the reinforcements the same way. His prompt and plucky action undoubtedly saved the situation."

An alternate title for this illustration is Soldier Watering Tulips.
This Norman Rockwell Easter illustration was published during the initial months after America entered World War I. The Great War had been raging in Europe since 1914, but America only officially entered into the fray in December 1917.
This may explain why the soldier is portrayed in a clean tidy uniform. He hasn't been there long for the war to get old yet.
This soldier is watering tulips that he has either found or replanted. He has carried the water for the tulips in his helmet.
Notice the red highlights on the right side of the painting. This lighting suggests light somewhere off the canvas. Either a campfire, a building burning or possible artillery fire is possible.
Rockwell took this opportunity to remind American readers of the soldiers in harm's way on Easter .

The first battle of Villers-Bretonneux, 30 March-5 April 1918, was part of the wider second battle of the Somme, and is the name allocated to the fighting in front of Amiens. Villers-Bretonneux is ten miles east of Amiens. Possession of the town would have given the Germans a position from where they could have bombarded Amiens.

The German advance towards Amiens began on 30-31 March, and pushed the British line back towards Villers-Bretonneux, making particular progress to the south of the railway that linked Amiens and Villers-Bretonneux. A three day lull followed, while the Germans prepared for their next attack.

Part of that attack fell on the centre and left of the French First Army (Debeney), which had taken over part of the line south of Villers-Bretonneux. Part of the French line fell back, but a counterattack regained much of the lost ground.

The British XIX corps still held the line east of Villers-Bretonneux. From north to south the line was held by 14th Division, 35th Australian Battalion and 18th Division. On the morning of 4 April the 14th Division fell back under attack from the German 228th Division, but the Australians held off the 9th Bavarian Reserve Division and the 18th Division held off the Guards Ersatz Division and 19th Divisions. That afternoon they were forced to pull back by the retreat of the 14th Division. An attack that afternoon pushed the 18th Division even further back.

The Germans were now within 440 yards of Villers-Bretonneux and there was a real chance that the town might fall. The situation was saved by a counterattack led by Colonel J Milne’s 36th Australian Battalion. At the head of a force of just over 1,000 men, the Australians forced two German divisions to retreat away from Villers-Bretonneux.

The attack on Villers-Bretonneux was the last significant German attack of the entire second battle of the Somme. Orders were issued for a renewed attack to the north and south of the town on 5 April, but the attack never really got going. Ludendorff was forced to admit that his armies could no longer overcome Allied resistance on the Somme and the entire offensive was brought to a halt.

A History of Daylight Savings Time - America Joins Europe In Springing Forward and Falling Back

A funny thing happened on March 30, 1918. Many Americans went to sleep and woke up the next morning to find that it was an hour later than their clocks said.

Putting Daylight Savings Time Into Effect

President Woodrow Wilson signed the bill on March 19, 1918. When Daylight Savings Time went into effect on March 30, the rationale was that it was needed to help the United States in the war effort of WWI.

“Now that it is actually going to be made effective, don’t plan to spend that extra hour of afternoon sunlight for pleasure. Make plans at once to devote that extra hour working in war gardens, or at some other out of door labor that will aid in helping to win the war,” wrote the New Castle News on March 20, 1918.